Isabella man to be tried for woman's overdose death

An Isabella County man accused of several felonies including delivery of drugs causing death has been ordered to stand trial.

Richard Clare Pathic Jr., accused of providing the morphine that caused the death of Leah Nichole Erb, 31, on May 24, is set to go on trial Jan. 6 at 9 a.m. in Chief Judge Paul Chamberlain’s Mt. Pleasant courtroom.

Pathic, 40, of Isabella County’s Broomfield Township, was ordered on Thursday after a day-long hearing to stand trial on eight charges - three counts of delivery/manufacture of a narcotic less than 50 grams, a 20-year felony; three counts of delivery/manufacture of hydrocodone, a seven-year felony; delivery of a controlled substance causing death, punishable by any number of years up to and including life; and maintaining a drug house, a two-year high court misdemeanor.

Pathic is accused of giving hydrocodone - Vicodin - to three women, and providing the drug that caused Erb’s death, according to court records.

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Isabella County Sheriff’s deputies were called to Pathic’s home in the 9000 block of West Pickard Road at 5 p.m. May 24 to investigate a report of a woman not breathing.

When police arrived, firefighters and paramedics were already there, performing CPR on Erb, who was taken to McLaren-Central Michigan and pronounced dead later that day.

An autopsy showed that Erb died of morphine toxicity, and she had a prescription for alprazolam, the generic name for Xanax, but no other drugs, according to court records.

Police learned that Pathic had prescriptions through the Veterans Administration for morphine, Vicodin and Xanax, and drugs for post traumatic stress disorder.

Erb was living with Pathic, and her children told police that Pathic “would give pills to their mom,” according to court records.

One of Erb’s children told police that Pathic gave her four morphine pills the day before she died, according to court records.

Pathic told Erb’s children that he gave her the drugs to help her deal with stress, police said.

A detective obtained and served a search warrant on Pathic’s home and vehicle Sept. 10, and officers from the sheriff’s department and the Bay Area Narcotics Enforcement Team found stolen pistols, unregistered pistols, a vial containing morphine tablets, several long guns and a lock box with other drugs including morphine, Vicodin, Xanax and PTSD medications, according to court records.

Pathic was arrested and jailed in lieu of $900,000 bond, according to court records.

When police searched Pathic’s home, two women were there; one told officers that she didn’t have anyplace else to go and that Pathic “kept trying to get her to do morphine pills and have sex with her but she refused,” according to court records.

The woman also told police that Pathic “would brad about his drug use and women that would come over and have sex with him for drugs,” according to court records.

The other woman who was at Pathic’s house told police that she had known Pathic for several years and that she had gotten morphine about 50 times from Pathic, and Xanax about 100 times, according to court records.

Another woman whom Pathic is accused of giving drugs told police that he gave her his lock box, which contained prescription drugs and a double-edged knife, according to court records.

She also said Pathic gave her more than 50 morphine pills and provided her with Vicodin more than 100 times since the first of the year, according to court records.